Rail-joint.



- F. L. ANDERSON & J. W. HORNE.

RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 4,1516.

1,190,076. Patented Jul ,1916.

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F. L. ANDERSON & J. W. HORNE.

RAIL 101m.

' APPLICATION FILED JAN. 4, 1916. 1,1 90,076. Patented July 4, 1916.

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r5071, WW Josgbh W 1707726 Cir UNITE-D STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FINIS L. ANDERSON AND JOSEPH W. HORNE, 0F FULLERTON, NEBRASKA.

RAIL-JOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 4, 1916.

Application filed January 4, 1916. Serial No. 70,177.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, Finis L. ANDEnsoN and Josnrn 1V. HORNE, both citizens of the United States, residing at Fullerton, in the county of Nance and State of Nebraska, have invented new and useful Improvements in Rail-Joints, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in means for connecting the meeting ends of railway rails.

An ob ect of the invention is to lmprove the construction of railway rails by provldv ing the ends of the same with interengaging means whereby the two rails may be easily connected and held in positive ahnement.

lVith the above and other ob ects 1n View,

the improvement resides in the construc-.

tion, combination and arrangement of parts set forth in the following specification and falling within the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of two rails constructed and connected in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 2 is an elevation looking toward the opposite side of the same, Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional View approximately on the line 33 of Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view approximately on the line of Fig. 2, Fig. 5 is a similar sectional view approximately on the line 55 of Fig. 2, Fig. 6 is a perspective view looking toward the end of one of the rail members, Fig. 7 is a similar view of the end of the other rail, Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the removable plate.

The rails 1 and 2 have their body portions of ordinary construction but the ends thereof are widened or thickened at their webs, the said thickened portions beingof a width preferably greater than that of the head of the rails so that the same has its side walls disposed at an equal distance beyond the 0pposite sides of the head of the rails. The thickened web of the rail 1, indicated by the numeral 3, is provided at its end with a substantially rectangular groove lwhich enters from one of the sides of the said rail end and which has its inner side wall disposed a suitable distance from the opposite side of the said thickened web. The flange of the rail 1 extends a suitable distance beyond its end, as indicated by the numeral 5, but the said flange is cut centrally and longitudinally from its end to a distance approximately oneshalf of the length of the thickened web portion 3. The flange is cut transversely from the side of the web to which the groove 4L opens and is also cut horizontally in a line with the lower wall of the thickened web, thus providing a substantially rectangular pocket (3 beneath the thickened web 3. The thickened web to the rear of the pocket 4 is provided with a plurality of transverse bolt openings receiving bolts 7-7 which have their heads arranged on the outer face of the rail.

The thickened web 8 at the end of the rail 2* is provided at its end with an approximately centrally arranged tongue 9 of a size to be snugly received in the groove 4- of the rail 1. The tongue9 has one of its sidesarranged flush with the inner side of the thickened web 8 and its opposite side terminating a suitable distance away from the outer face of the side of said portion 8, the distance between this face of the web and the side of the tongue equaling the thickness of the wall between the inner side wall of the groove 4 and the outer face of the thickened web 3 of the rail 1. The flange of the rail 2 also extends a suitable distance beyond the end of the rail, as indicated by the numeral 10, the extension beingequal to the longitudinal depth of the pocket 6, and the extension as well as the flange proper is cut centrally and horizontally for approximately one-half of the length of the thickened portion 8 of the web of the rail 2. The flange is also cut transversely in a line with the terminal of the longitudinal cut and is again out horizontally in a line with the juncture of the flange with the web, thus providing a pocket 11, and this pocket is of a size to snugly receive the flange extension 5 of the rail 1 and the extension 10 fits in the pocket 6 when the rails are assembled. The thickened web portion 8 is provided with transverse openings through which pass bolts 12, the heads of the bolts being arranged upon the outer side of the rails, and the projecting ends of the bolts are adapted to be received in openings provided upon a substantially rectangular plate 13 arranged upon the inner face of the rails, suitable nuts 14 engaging the ends of the bolts and looking the plate 13 to the ends of the rails.

Vith a joint constructed as illustrated and described, the rails will be held against tilting or lateral movement to retain the heads of the rails in positive alinement, and,

of course, the bolt openings are elongated to provide for the expansion and contraction of the rails. By removing the plate 13 the rail ends may be readily separated should one of the rails become worn and be replaced by a new rail, and it should be further noted that the rail ends may be assembled and connected in a comparatively short space of time and that especial skill will not be required in such assembling, as the abutting edges of the rail flanges and the contacting of the faces of the tongue with the walls provided by the groove will hold the heads of the rails in proper registering alinement.

From the above description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the simplicity of the device, as well as the advantages thereof will, it is thought, be perfectly apparent to those skilled in the art to which such invention appertains without further detailed description.

Having thus described the invention, what we claim is:

In a rail oint, two rails having their ends thickened and their flanges extending beyond their ends, the said flanges being cut centrally, longitudinally, horizontally and transversely to provide pockets beneath the thickened webs at one side of the webs, and the projecting flange of one of the rails adapted to be received. in the pocket of the co-acting rail, one of the rails at the end thereof having a transverse groove entering from one of its sides, the other rail end having a projecting tongue, one of its sides being arranged flush with one of the sides of the thickened web and its opposite side terminating away from the other side of the said web, said tongue adapted to be arranged in the groove of the first mentioned rail, a plate covering the tongue and groove, and means for securing the plate to the rail ends.

In testimony whereof we afl ix our signa-' Gopien of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Gommissloner of Patna: Washington, I). 0. 

